I know, “blazing the trail” is a cliché. But do you even know what it means? I was thinking about it this week. A friend of mine has a son in the Boy Scouts, and he just finished a summer-long project of creating a hiking path. At the end of the project, he had to go through and blaze the trail. This means he put markers or blazes along the path so that others could follow it correctly.

You see, in the woods, things are always changing. What looks like a clear path today may look overgrown and confusing in just a few weeks. And in this part of the country, snow adds another complication. So the trail maker will put these markers, often painted symbols on trees, along the path. Doesn’t publishing feel that way a lot lately? What seems clear-cut one day is a jungle the next. One day, your biggest decision is whether you will come out in paperback or in hardcover with the paperback to follow. Now you have to factor in eBooks, and figuring out the timing on that is still in a testing phase. Promoting your book is just as complicated. Just when you figure out MySpace, Facebook takes over. Now Google+ is predicted to take charge. Some people claim to have a perfect plan. But do they? Or did they, but now six months later, it is outdated and will fail? There is no doubt that publishing is in a state of change. Who are the trailblazers now? Whose path are you following? A time like this calls for entrepreneurs. Isn’t this what you are as a small publisher or self-publisher? You take risks. You try new things. You make a name for yourself. But a reminder, if you will. Being an entrepreneur doesn’t mean you have to go it alone. It is, in fact, wise for an entrepreneur to partner with people and companies that can help you accomplish your goal. At Bookmasters, that is what we want to be for you. We want to be your partner in brining your book project to life. We have a lot of services that can supplement you in your efforts. Whether you just need help getting a print book to market, or you have a manuscript that needs everything, we exist to help you do what you want and need to do. Check us out today to see what we can do to help you with your next step. Photo: daveynin, Creative Commons